Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has recounted how his deputy, Dr Kadiri Obafemi Hamzat, deserted his governorship ambition in 2018 and agreed to run alongside him, describing the choice as an illustration of loyalty and selflessness.
Sanwo-Olu mentioned Hamzat, who had spent 13 years in public service underneath former governors Bola Tinubu and Babatunde Fashola, had the expertise, political backing and credentials to contest the governorship earlier than social gathering leaders requested him to step apart.
Speaking on Friday on the unveiling of Hamzat’s manifesto, titled The Lagos Promise, forward of the 2027 governorship election, Sanwo-Olu mentioned his deputy accepted the choice without bitterness and agreed to change into his operating mate 5 weeks later.
“Most of you know this story, but none of you have heard it from me,” the governor mentioned, recalling the occasions of September 2018.
“It takes a rare man to put down what he wants without nursing a grudge. Femi shook my hand and five weeks later, agreed to run beside me. I have never forgotten that.”
Sanwo-Olu mentioned his seven years working carefully with Hamzat had bolstered his confidence in the deputy governor’s character, dedication and capability to guide Lagos.
He described their relationship as one constructed on belief, shared duty and a standard imaginative and prescient, including that there had by no means been a day he questioned Hamzat’s loyalty.
“For 2,711 days, I have been in that room with him. In seven years, there has not been a single day I wondered whose side he was on. We have had one government, one direction, and one voice,” he mentioned.
The governor cited their dealing with of the COVID-19 pandemic, the event of the Lagos Blue and Red rail traces and the opening of the Lekki Deep Sea Port as examples of their partnership.
He mentioned Hamzat’s engineering background and expertise in authorities had made him an lively participant in main infrastructure initiatives, even earlier than their official commissioning.
Sanwo-Olu additionally highlighted Hamzat’s earlier contributions to Lagos, together with the development of the Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge underneath Fashola and the digitisation of presidency operations underneath Tinubu.
Describing Lagos governance as a relay race, the governor mentioned successive administrations since 1999 had sustained growth by constructing on the achievements of their predecessors.
“Lagos runs on a relay system. The baton is never passed to a runner standing still. You run at full speed inside the exchange zone, together, before the pass,” he mentioned.
He argued that Hamzat’s emergence because the APC’s governorship candidate represented continuity in the state’s growth trajectory fairly than an experiment with an inexperienced chief.
“Critics say Lagos keeps choosing from the same pool. I say Lagos trains its people,” Sanwo-Olu mentioned, including that the state’s long-term grasp plan, which extends to 2052, required skilled management to maintain ongoing initiatives.
The governor, who mentioned he had seven months left in workplace, urged Hamzat to protect present initiatives, deal with excellent challenges and introduce new insurance policies the place needed.
“The greatest gift a governor can leave his people is to hand over to someone who will not break the house,” he mentioned.
Hamzat, who unveiled 100 marketing campaign pledges, mentioned 87 have been agency commitments throughout the state authorities’s powers, whereas 13 have been aspirations depending on wider consultations, federal authorities and judicial processes.
He pledged to determine a public accountability framework inside his first 100 days, together with a service supply workplace to publish baseline figures and observe progress on marketing campaign guarantees.
The manifesto additionally outlined priorities in little one safety, vitamin, schooling, healthcare, public service reform and financial growth.
Sanwo-Olu urged APC members to take the manifesto to residents throughout Lagos, expressing confidence that Hamzat would maintain the state’s growth whereas constructing on the achievements of successive administrations.
A former Deputy Governor Sarah Sosan, talking on behalf of the social gathering’s Governance Advisory Council (GAC), described Hamzat as cerebral, hardworking and dedicated to the event of Lagos.
She maintained that the state’s progress was constructed on purposeful planning and sustained insurance policies, arguing that continuity shouldn’t be mistaken for resistance to vary however ought to contain studying from previous experiences and enhancing on present achievements.
The Lagos APC chairman, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, mentioned the social gathering was assured in Hamzat’s capability to guide the state, citing his expertise in each the private and non-private sectors.
He mentioned the social gathering remained dedicated to inclusive governance, financial progress and consolidating the achievements of successive administrations, including that Lagos couldn’t afford to stagnate or reverse its growth.
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